Zorro may be a fictional character, but there are many real-life Zorros in the world today.

"The only difference is that today's Zorros don't wear masks or capes," noted author Isabel Allende told me in a recent phone interview from her home in Marin County near San Francisco. "There are people everywhere fighting for the underdog and justice at great risk to themselves. You don't have to be an action hero to be courageous."

Allende will be speaking in Long Beach at the Terrace Theater Thursday night about her novel, "Zorro," which is this year's selection for the Long Beach Public Library Foundation's Long Beach Reads One Book festival.

Zorro is a rousing novel about the early years of the swashbuckling swordsman who signed his work with a distinctive "Z" in the clothing or skin of his enemies. During the day, this legendary hero was Diego de la Vega; at night, he dressed in black with a mask, a wide-brimmed hat and rode his noble horse, Tornado, fighting villains and oppressors for justice.

Allende said she has always loved the adventures of Zorro that she saw in movies and on television, but when she was approached by Zorro Productions to write this book, she hesitated at first because so much had been written and filmed about the masked hero.

"I wondered what else could be done, but then I thought I could write about how Zorro grew from a child to a man and how he developed his instinct to fight injustice. Zorro is a human being, brave, funny and romantic. It was a great exercise in imagination," Allende said.

Allende's own life reads like a novel.

She was born in Lima, Peru, in 1942 and raised in Chile. The assassination of her uncle, Chilean President Salvador Allende, sent her into exile, where she began her literary journey. She worked in Venezuela before moving to the United States where she lives with her husband, attorney Willie Gordon, and her rescue dog, Olivia.

A personal tragedy struck her when her daughter Paula died in 1992 at the age of 28. Her daughter went into a coma after complications from the disease porphyria. In tribute to her daughter, Allende started the Isabel Allende Foundation dedicated to supporting programs that promote and preserve the fundamental rights of women and children.

Her first book, "The House of the Spirits," was published in 1982 and became an acclaimed bestseller. The book had evolved from a letter she had written to her grandfather, who at 99 was on his deathbed.

Because she started "House of the Spirits" on Jan. 8 and it turned out so well, she now starts all of her books on Jan. 8, including the current novel she is working on. She has written more than a dozen books for adults and three books for children.

Asked if writing comes easy for her, she said, "I'm still terrified when I sit down and see that blank screen on my computer. I have no tips on writing. You just have to do it. Writing is a gift and sometimes it happens quickly and sometimes it takes longer."

Some would say her writing schedule is brutal.

"I get up every day at 6 a.m., feed my dog, Olivia, and by 8 a.m. or so I get started writing," she said. She usually finishes each day around 7 p.m. This is her writing routine Monday through Saturday. She does her writing in a little guest house by her garden in her backyard.

One thing she demands when she is writing is total privacy. "No phones, no faxes, no email. Just my computer. I need the quiet. Writing takes a lot of discipline," she said.

She said she wrote "Zorro" in about four months. Asked who her favorite actors were who played Zorro, she said she really liked Douglas Fairbanks in the silent movie and Antonio Banderas in "The Mask of Zorro" and "The Legend of Zorro."

Allende said she was honored to have her book selected for Long Beach Reads One Book.

"There is so much in Zorro - the history of California and the Spanish and Mexican influence - that people in Long Beach can relate to. I am looking forward to talking to Long Beach residents," she said.

One of the themes she wants to talk about is helping the oppressed.

"If we are going to fight injustice, we have to be prepared to do it for the rest of our lives because there is no end to injustices in the world," she said.

Just like Zorro would do.

Asked if she was ever going to retire, she laughed and said, "No, no, no. This (writing) is the only thing I can do. I can't cook or anything."

Also appearing with Allende at the Terrace Theater will be the Poly High School Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra, under the direction of Andy Osman, will debut an original piece, "An Island in Time," composed by Karl Preusser for the opening of the new center at Rancho Los Alamitos.

Tickets for the "Evening with Isabel Allende and the Poly High Symphony Orchestra" are $25, including parking. To reserve your seats, call 800-383-3006 or go to brownpapertickets.com/event/221313.